E BOOKS ON HINDU MYTHOLOGY
The E Books listed below are available with leading Booksellers. The links are given under each book. The books are also available with Google Playbooks and Kobo under the following links.
​
​
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=Books%20by%20M.%20Venkataraman&c=books&hl=en&gl=US
​
https://www.kobo.com/in/en/search?query=m.+venkataraman&fclanguages=en
​
​
Ganesha
Ganesha is a cute little god amongst those mentioned in the Hindu puranas. This book contains some stories connected to Ganesha. The book is meant essentially for children. Elders may also purchase this book and tell these stories to children. The book contains colourful illustrations on Ganesha's form which will be liked by children.
​
https://books2read.com/u/bWdVNY
​
​
A few gods and goddesses of Hinduism
The foundations of Hinduism are the eternal and supersensuous truths discovered by ancient Indian sages. These revealed Divine Truths are called the Vedas. According to the teachings of the Vedas, God is the One without a second — the only Reality. God is referred to as Brahman, the Supreme Universal Soul. It is said that by His mere will Brahman manifests Himself as this universe. Hence, creation, preservation and dissolution of this world are the three aspects of God. These three basic aspects of God are represented by the Trinity called as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. There are also other deities in Hinduism to personify the various other endless powers and aspects of God. These are the gods and goddesses of Hinduism.
​
A brief idea about a few important gods and goddesses of Hinduism are given in this book.
​
https://books2read.com/u/3RKQAp
​
​
Hanuman
Hanuman is one amongst many well-known gods mentioned in the Hindu puranas. He is known as the monkey-god and is the greatest devotee of Rama. He is the god of power and strength. It is believed that he is present wherever the story of Rama is recited or spoken. This book contains some of the stories connected to him with colourful illustrations which will be liked by children.
​
​
https://books2read.com/u/3JjaPA
​
Nayanmars-the Shaivite Saints
A group of sixty-three ancient Shaivite saints who lived in Tamil Nadu in India during the period from sixth to the eighth century A.D are called ‘Nayanmars’. Most of them are famous for their poetry in Tamil in praise of Lord Shiva-one of the Hindu Trinity.
​
This book contains brief details about the life of these sixty-three Nayanmars.
​
https://books2read.com/u/mZezep
​
​
Ancient Sages of India
The foundations of Hinduism are the eternal and super sensuous truths discovered by ancient Indian sages. Most of them are unknown. The truths discovered by them are known as the Vedas.
Sages are the great souls who have found out the truth and devoted their life, energy and experience for the welfare of the people. They are extraordinary human beings having great wisdom, vast experience and character worthy of imitation.
​
According to Hindu chronology, the period of the ancient sages is till the end of Dwapara Yuga, which is about 5000 years back. The penetration of these sages in the subjects they dealt with is very profound and clear. The later generation just interpreted their work and followed their footsteps.
​
India has been blessed from time immemorial by the advent of innumerable sages. In this book you can read the stories of some of these known sages.
​
https://books2read.com/u/mldvM9
​
Alwars-the Vaishnavite Saints
The Alwars are a group of twelve ancient Vaishnava saints who lived in Tamil Nadu in the eighth and ninth centuries. They are famous for their poetry in praise of Lord Vishnu. The collection of their 4000 poems is known as the ‘Naalaayira Divya Prabhandam’.
​
Among the Alwars, the first in the line up is Poigai Alwar, Bhudat Alwar and Pei Alwar. They are collectively called as "Mudhal Alwars" (the first Alwars) and belong to the same period of time. The other Alwars are Perialwar, Andal, Nammalwar, Madhura kavi Alwar, Tirumazhisai Alwar, Thondaridipodi Alwar, Tirumangai Alwar, Tiruppan Alwar and Kulasekara Alwar.
​
This book gives a brief account of these twelve great saints.
​
https://books2read.com/u/4EoGqA
​
Great Saints of India
Saints are the great souls who have devoted their life, energy and experience for the welfare of the people. They are extraordinary human beings having great wisdom, vast experience and character worthy of imitation. They gifted everything to the world without seeking fame or any kind of gain. Welfare of the world was their sole objective.
​
India has been blessed from time immemorial by the advent of innumerable saints. In this book you can read the stories of some of these known saints.
​
https://books2read.com/u/m2RgBd
​
The Bhagawat Gita-A Synopsis
The Bhagawat Gita is one of the main religious literature in the Hindu way of life. It is the essence of the philosophy contained in the Upanishads and is a part of the Mahabharata which describes the story of the Pandavas and the Kouravas. The various incidents in the life of the Pandavas and the Kouravas ultimately leads to the war in Kurukshetra wherein the Pandavas finally win the battle.
​
When Arjuna, the great warrior of the Pandava brothers sees the Kourava army in the battlefield, he is overwhelmed with concern because they are all his kinsmen. He gets terrified. Not because of fear of battle but because of emotions. Krishna who is the incarnation of the Almighty God was acting as his charioteer. Arjuna tells Krishna, ‘My limbs give way. My mouth is getting parched. I feel shaky. My bow slips from my hand. My skin burns all over. My mind is whirling as though I cannot hold on to myself. I see evil portends.’ A conversation ensues between Krishna and Arjuna and this conversation is the Bhagawat Gita wherein Krishna imparts to him the philosophy contained in the Upanishads.
This book is a brief synopsis of the Bhagawat Gita.
​
https://books2read.com/u/mdjMnX
​
​
Sri Lalitha Sahasranamam-A Brief Overview
The Lalitha Sahasranamam is one of the important and famous hymns in the Hindu way of life. It is a hymn in praise of Lalitha Tripurasundari also called as Lalithambika.
​
The Lalitha Sahasranamam occurs in the Brahmanda Purana. It is a hymn that describes the 1000 various names of Sri Lalitha Tripurasundari as the Divine Mother. While doing so, the hymn provides a beautiful mix of poetry, romance, religion and philosophy. It is presented during the course of instructions imparted to Sage Agasthya by Lord Hayagriva who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
​
Broadly, the Sahasranamam describes the beauty of the Goddess, her kingdom known as Sri Puram or Sri Nagara, the great lotus forest known as Mahapadma vana at the centre of this city of Sri Nagara and her ultimate battle against Bandasura and his annihilation.
​
I have divided the subject into sixteen chapters and tried to briefly explain it to the extent of my understanding.
​
https://books2read.com/u/3LRw1M
​
Sandhyavandanam Mantras-Meaning
(For followers of Yajurveda)
Sandhya Vandanam is one of the efficient spiritual rituals of the Hindus. It helps in the realisation of the Divinity of the Self, called as Atman in Hindu philosophy. It is an obligatory daily ritual called as Nithya Karma. It is an all-round complete ritual which incorporates the principles of the Supreme Divinity referred to as Brahman. Each part of the ritual gives an external expression for the development of an internal mental attitude and spiritual feeling. In this process, there is an effort to bring about self-purification and attunement to the Cosmic Reality.
​
The rituals are to be done thrice daily-early morning, at noon and at sunset. In the Hindu way of life, each person is primarily affiliated to a particular Vedic study, namely the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Sama Veda. Though the objectives are generally the same, there are variations in the mantras of these three vedas.
​
This book is an attempt to give the meanings of some of the important Mantras of the Yajur Veda sect basically followed in the southern part of India. Based on the different stages of the ritual, it has been divided into eighteen chapters for the purpose of easy grasp and understanding by those who are not well-versed in the knowledge of these mantras.
​
https://books2read.com/u/mV6nO6
​
​
​
A Brief Summary of the Yajurveda Brahma Yagnam
Brahma Yagnam is one of the important daily rituals to be performed by those following the Sanatana Dharma particularly those belonging to the brahmin community.
​
As is well known, the Vedas have been classified into four groups by Sage Veda Vyasa as Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharvana Veda. Hinduism prescribes the learning, preserving and propagation of the Vedas particularly by the brahmin community. So, every day the learning process of the Vedas is required to be done. As a prelude to this process, the first mantra from each of the four Vedas is recited. While doing so, other important deities are worshipped in brief and tarpana, which may be called as oblations in English, is given to the Devas, Rishis and Pitrus. This is the Brahma Yagnam.
​
A brief summary of the various mantras contained in Brahma Yagnam relating to the Yajurveda followers is given in this book along with the mantras. There is also an addendum consisting of the Sandhyavandhanam mantras.
​
https://books2read.com/u/3n2NE9
​
​
​
A Brief Overview of Bhartrihari’s hundred verses
on Detachment
Bhartrihari is one of the important poets of Sanskrit Literature. It is said that he belonged to the first century B.C and that he was the elder brother of King Vikramaditya, the great ruler of Ujjain.
​
Bhartr̥ihari was not only a great King. He was a great scholar, a great poet, a great Yogi, a versatile genius and above all a great Vedantin. He has written many works in Sanskrit. Three of them are popular poems consisting of one hundred verses each. They are-the Shringara Satakam, the Niti Satakam and the Vairagya Satakam. Satakam means a work consisting of 100 verses.
​
Vairagya Satakam is a philosophical work dealing with the subject of liberation. Vairagyam means detachment. So, this work deals with the subject of Vairagyam as a pre requisite for liberation.
​
This book gives a brief overview of this poem.
​
https://books2read.com/u/bMV2O7
​
​
​
Appayya Dikshitar's 'Atmarpana Stuti' or 'Unmatha Panchasat'-
With brief summary in English
The Atmaarpana Stuthi is a hymn in Sanskrit language composed by Appayya Dikshitar, one of the great saints and proponent of Advaita Philosophy after Adi Sankara. It is a hymn in praise of Lord Shiva and is also known as ‘Unmattha Panchaa Shath’.
​
Once Dikshitar felt that he has to put himself to a test as to whether his devotion to Lord Shiva was indeed true. He thought, ‘Suppose I become insane, will my mouth utter the name of Lord Shiva. If that be so, then it must be real.’ So, he embarked on an experiment. He made a paste of Datura seeds. These seeds are poisonous and if taken in, will make a person insane. He also prepared an antidote to this poison.
​
He called his disciples. He gave them the poisonous paste and the antidote. He told them to give him the first potion for a week and write down whatever he said in that state of mind. After recording this, they have to give after a week, the antidote that would bring him back to normalcy. Indeed it was a remarkable experiment to find out how serious he was about Shiva.
​
The experiment started. The disciples recorded what he said during that time. It was this hymn on Lord Shiva consisting of fifty verses. ‘Panchaa Shath’ means 50 and ‘Unmattha’ means “one who has lost his mind”. So, it is 50 verses composed during the period when he lost his mind.
​
https://books2read.com/u/m2Q5xo
​